Trade Mission: Dubai

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March 24, 2016

MICCI in collaboration with the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) cordially invites you to participate in a trade and investment mission to Dubai from 10-14 April 2016 led by MICCI President, Datuk Wira Jalilah Baba.

The mission is organised in conjunction with the 2016 Annual Investment Meeting (AIM 2016), a strategic business platform held annually by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Economy. AIM 2016 will feature a keynote address by Datuk Jalilah Baba during the Plenary Session 8.

The 4-day business mission will comprise visits to the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai Halal Hub, MIDA and MATRADE (in Dubai), Dubai Exports, Dubai Capital of Islamic Economy, Sharjah Investment & Development Authority, Dubai Chamber Malaysia, UAE Business Council, Dubai South, Dubai Dragon Mall and Dubai EXPO 2020.

A series of B2B meetings and B2G meetings will also be arranged.

The cost breakdown to participate in this business mission is subject to prevailing rates at the time of purchase:

Air ticket RM4,000 (Economy) RM17,500 (Business)
Hotel (@ 5 Nights) RM6,000 (4 Star) RM6,000 (4 Star)
Local transport & Admin Costs RM1,000 RM1,000

TOTAL RM11,000 RM24,500

Kindly be informed that participating companies are eligible to claim the Market Development Grant (MDG) provided you are a MATRADE member and adhere to the MDG guidelines. Maximum amount of the grant is RM2,000 per company per participation or the actual participation fees whichever is lower. Eligible companies can claim for participation fee, air fare and accommodation.

The registration form and tentative programme are attached for your kind attention. More information on AIM2016 can be accessed at www.aimcongress.com.

Please contact Ms. Wong Hin Wei at 03-6201 7708 or email [email protected] should you require further details. We look forward to your participation.

2016 Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

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News Hub Asia Reporter

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March 10, 2016

A CALL FOR ENTRIES!

2016 YOUTH CITIZEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION

MOBILIZING YOUTH-LED INNOVATIONS ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

@

www.youth-competition.org

– Deadline for entries is 30 June, 2016 –

The Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition invites again young entrepreneurs (age 15-35) from around the world to submit their innovative ideas and projects with a societal impact, which champions and implements one or more of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The deadline for submission of ideas and projects is 30 June 2016.

Winners of the competition will be announced in the Entrepreneurship Summit in Berlin in October 2016 and will receive international recognition.

Visit the interactive website www.youth-competition.org to submit entries that will be posted for online voting and feedback from the public. Through the competition process, youth entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to optimize their ideas and develop their enterprise by receiving online training at the Entrepreneurship Campus and support from the global online community.

Register Online!
Submit Your Creative Ideas And Innovative Projects!
Take A Free Online Training At The Entrepreneurship Campus!
Enroll Friends And Colleagues To Post Comments And To Vote!
Join A Global Community Of Creative Youth Entrepreneurs!
Be A Changemaker For A Peaceful and Sustainable Planet!

Expensive to Insure: Great to Drive!!!

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News Hub Asia Reporter

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March 7, 2016

BUSINESS-LIFESTYLE-REVIEW-Banner-e1452321790903-2

These are the ten most costly cars to insure annually, according to Worthly.

Sometimes the least expensive part of the horse is the horse and like their hoofed predecessors, cars are plagued by bills far beyond the buy-in price — especially the expensive, fast ones.

10. The Porsche 911 Carrera GT3 RS – $3,212

9. The Audi RS7 Quattro Prestige – $3,229

8. The Range Rover SV Autobiography Black LWB – $3,245

7. The BMW M6 Gran Coupe – $3,309

6. The Nissan GT-R Nismo – $3,476

5. The Porsche Panamera S Executive – $3,484

4. The Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG 4Matic – $3,513

3. The Mercedes-Benz S600 – $3,539

2. The Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG – $3,797

1. The Dodge Viper – $4,048

SME Strategy In Motion

By

System Admin

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March 7, 2016

The statistics are clear, small and medium sized enterprises or SME’s make a huge percentage of the economy and account for large amounts of employment and more importunately employment growth in most developed countries, Malaysia is no different.

The government knows it needs to develop this group should it have a chance to reach developed nation status (now add high income to the requirement) by the year 2020. With a population of only 30 Million there are limitations to the domestic market, export of goods and services will be an important part of any sustainable Malaysian SME.

Moving forward, there needs to be a clear strategy to meet the challenges faced by SME’s as they face international competition both in the domestic and global markets. The SME Corp is the government agency which is under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) tasked with the leading the development of SME’s. Even with the considerable resources of the government there is a limit to what they can effectively achieve, that is why a broader effort will be required.

The first challenge that SME’s in most sectors will face is the considerable barriers of entry, further compounded by late market entry, considerable disadvantage in size to the Chinese and low brand recognition compared to European, Australian and American companies.

There is a need to understand the strategic environment so that an effective strategy can be developed and a framework of collaboration established which will allow Malaysian companies to compete globally together.

What we are proposing and have helped many companies with is the development of an “Allied Export Partner Strategy” which has three main pillars:

Identifying and partnering with internationalized Malaysian companies
Supply to MNC’s that are present in the Malaysian market and tie up with their “Global Purchasing Program”
Formation of a consortium with companies in the same sector

As a next step and knowing full well that most SME’s don’t “have the time” to develop such strategies as the day to day running of the organisation tends to take up 90% of management’s time external assistance is needed. That is why leveraging off the expertise and experience of the team at Malaysia Global Business can be an important first step in the right direction.

About the author

Nordin Abdullah is an Australian entrepreneur with over two decades in Asia, the Organising Chairman of the Malaysia Global Business Forum and the Managing Director of Glenreagh Sdn. Bhd. a boutique consultancy firm based in Kuala Lumpur, to arrange a time to discuss how the team at Glenreagh can assist your contact [email protected] or [email protected]

Green Lighting & SME Vendor Development

By

System Admin

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March 5, 2016

Malaysia has over 100,000,000 sqf of Green Office space and almost 2,000km of highways second only to Japan and China in Asia, a series of modern airports and a host of telecommunication players, to light this infrastructure a thriving LED manufacture base has been established.

To cope with the “Green Economy” ambitions the Malaysian Government has identified 7 companies who lead in innovation and production capacity to lead the export drive, for more information about the companies please refer to the list below.

Recent developments in LED lighting technology has permitted them to be used in a variety of different applications, including environmental and task lighting. Light-emitting diodes are now used in applications as diverse as aviation lighting, automotive headlamps, advertising, general lighting, traffic signals, and camera flashes. As a component of “green refit” or as part of a energy efficient strategy LED lights have many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching.

The Malaysia Global Business Forum is proud to be assisting in the SME Development of the country, for those companies looking to implement an SME Vendor program or a SME buying Policy please contact us.

Find out more about how the Malaysia Global Business Forum can assist your company with the challenges of expanding into Asia. Read more…

Award Winning Restaurant – Minori

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News Hub Asia Reporter

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March 5, 2016

Award Winning Restaurant – Minori a Beautiful Harvest

Business Lunches are an important part of doing business in Malaysia. Finding the right place to entertain potential clients is always an important decision. Minori restaurant is strategically located in The Royale Chulan Damansara which makes it an excellent location for a business lunch.

Minori which means ‘harvest’ in Japanese, is inspired by the tradition of excellence of Japanese farmers who patiently grows a bountiful harvest in harmony with the rhythm of the seasons. Master Chief – Takahiro San applies traditional Japanese culinary skills to provide a fine Japanese gastronomic experience in a restaurant that give guests a truly modern experience.

Minori has some specialities which are well worth mentioning both in terms of their exoticness and for their contribution to health and wellbeing. To name just a few, Fish Sperms, Foie Gras Chawanmushi, Fish Collagen Mochi dessert can be found on the menu. Currently the Koubako female Zuwai Crabs are on the speciality menu, a dish that can only be enjoyed from November through January. Master Chief – Takahiro San who is certified to prepare blower fish takes pride in the uniqueness of the menu.

As a backdrop for your next business lunch, be it the quintessential sushi lunch or something more exotic the ambiance of the open restaurant is excellent and if you need more privacy the VIP room which seats up to 30 people is the best option.

A quick review of social media sites reveals a positive trend “Unlike other Japanese restaurant, this Japanese restaurant is indeed surprised me a lot with their creativity in their menu. They make me realized that the diversity of Japanese cuisine. I am truly impressed! It was worth the trip and highly recommended to everyone” chillout-soulout-freakout.blogspot.my

It is no wonder that the culinary awards keep rolling in, include Malaysia Tatler Best restaurants, 2014 and 2015 and featured in the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2015, together with her partner, owner Dato’ Jessie Yow whose family boasts Japanese heritage is the young entrepreneur behind the restaurant brings her own brand of energy to the restaurant. “The restaurant is a passion of mine, I want to create a unique experience for my guests and we have positioned the price of the food so that it is more accessable and it is high end quality”.

Whether it’s a business lunch or a private dinner Minori offers diners a unique Japanese experience.

To book your business lunch

Contact details

+603-7959 9099

The Royale Chulan Damansara Hotel

1^st Floor, No. 2 Jalan PJU 7/3 Mutiara Damansara

https://www.facebook.com/MinoriRestaurant/

Sports Sponsorship: Association with Winners

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News Hub Asia Reporter

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March 4, 2016

It is a natural human behavior to want to be associated with winners…

Corporate Sponsorship of Sport — Malaysia defeats Singapore: Imagine your logo in this photo which appeared in the media following the match.

Globally the second most popular sport is Cricket, the sport has many heroes and players that are brand names that corporations scramble to be associated. The main reason that led to the uprising of cricket was the advent of television and the massive viewer demand that came with that, the BBC reported that India vs. Pakistan World Cup match was the most watched sporting event in History, more than the Olympics. The television audience was estimated at one billion viewers.

And now that audience has created “Social media activity and conversation is now increasingly becoming a huge part of agencies’ and sponsors’ evaluation of campaigns,” says Adam Wright, an Account Executive at a leading sport & entertainment agency.

One of the under invested real estates in the Malaysian sports scene is Cricket, Mahinda Vallipuram who is the President of the Malaysian Cricket Association explained some of the key facts about the sport and the opportunities for brands to engage ‘The past 12 months have been an exciting time for Cricket in Malaysia, we have been able to move up the world rankings to become 23^rd in the world. Internationally speaking we have become well know due the various qualifiers for the World Cup and Asian Cup were hosted in Malaysia’.

Cricket Malaysia Sposorship — Cricket has a massive tradition but the scale and format of the sport is perfect for modern day marketing

‘Domestically, cricket is now played in over 480 schools across the country and various domestic and inter-state competitions has seen Malaysians from all races participating. These activities resulted in an audited value of over RM2.1 Million worth of public relations value generated for the sponsors and supporters of Cricket in Malaysia’.

‘The next 18 months will be as equally exciting as Cricket for the first time has been included in the SEA Games for Men’s 50 over and T20 formats and T20 format for the women, this means cricket can contribute 3 gold medals to the national tally. This is a great opportunity for companies to position their organisation as a supporter of the national team and be a part of the success to bring home gold’.

Sponsorship is not an act of charity – it must show some form of positive return on investment (ROI). Since sponsorship is a business arrangement, standard evaluative criteria should be used to establish the suitability of a proposed event in relation to the sponsor’s image and products. A sponsor can enjoy a wide range of benefits from a carefully selected sponsorship, which can:

raise brand awareness and create preference
create positive PR and raise awareness of the organisation as a whole
provide attractive content for a range of products and services
build brand positioning through associative imagery
support a sales promotion campaign
be seen supporting the national development agenda
create internal emotional commitment to the brand
act as corporate hospitality that promotes good relations with clients.

For more information about Cricket in Malaysia visit the national governing body’s website at www.CricketMalaysia.com and check out some of the recent events held at Kinrara the home of cricket in Malaysia

Inside Malaysia’s Logistics Sector

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News Hub Asia Reporter

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March 3, 2016

“Malaysia is the world’s 24th largest trading nation, which makes logistics industry paramount. From the logistics infrastructure; ports, airports, highways and railways to the service providers and government regulators must come together to provide a total logistics solution ecosystem”

The role of logistics as a crucial factor in Malaysia’s trade and economic growth cannot be understated and its importance as an enabler of the nation’s trade-dependent and export-oriented economy cannot be overemphasised, yet many are still unaware of this fact.

As this global Multi-Billion Dollar industry grows the question remains, how will Malaysian companies facilitate and creates efficiency for the supply chains of global players and how will the stakeholders in Malaysia chart the future of the countries logistics sector?

Malaysia has long been seen as a gateway to ASEAN, and has a host of International agreements and a long history of global trade in a recent interview the Organising Chairman of the Malaysia Global Business Forum, Nordin Abdullah commented “Malaysia has the advantage of several free trade agreements with key nations such as Japan, Pakistan, New Zealand, India, Chile and Australia and all the ASEAN nations under AFTA.”

“Growth of the logistics sector in Malaysia is almost guaranteed as the economy is expected to grow between 5% and 6% annually in the coming years, while comparatively low compared to some Asian countries it is relatively high compared to the global average of 3.7%.” he continued

Malaysia has well-developed Infrastructure according to the MIDA website “Infrastructure in Malaysia is designed to serve the business community; it is one of the best in Asia. Telecommunications network served by digital and fibre optic technology, five international airports (all with air-cargo facilities), well-maintained highways and seven international seaports make Malaysia an ideal springboard to the Asia-Pacific market.”

“Industries in Malaysia are predominantly located in over 500 industrial estates and Free Zones developed throughout the country. These zones are categorised as export processing zones, which cater to the requirements of export-oriented industries. There are also specialised parks that have been developed to cater to the needs of specific industries.”

Moving forward, while the prospects for Malaysia’s logistics sector are positive, there is much room for improvement. To enable the logistics sector to handle greater volumes of freight, to speed up the time taken to deliver goods across the supply chains and to lower the cost of this delivery, several improvements need to be made. These issues and more will be discussed in the next episode of MGBF Industry Reports – “Inside Malaysia’s Logistics Industry”

Hosted, engaging and well researched content, in a high quality magazine format – MGBF Industry Reports are 30minute programs that will air on BERNAMA TV on weekdays at 11:00pm and later hosted on MGBF dedicated channel on YouTube, solves the cost vs reach problem for your organisation. Many companies are now taking the advantage of the benefits of television coupled with social media to achieve their communication goals.

Why Sarawak?

By

News Hub Asia Reporter

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March 1, 2016

I bet, the title above is the most popular question we get when we say that we are doing something in Sarawak. It’s either that, or we get the ‘Uhh??“, or “Where again?” or the infamous look which says that the person doesn’t know what or where is Sarawak.

Well, that’s the beauty of Sarawak to be honest. With ‘it’ being hidden from the world, it can be resembled as a ‘diamond’ yet to be discovered. Sarawak, maybe lacking in terms of popularity, but it is one of the few states in Malaysia which has huge potential. It has abundant resources, and the massive support from the Sarawak State Government is always available to push anything here to succeed. In fact, we are very confident that Sarawak will soon e more than just a sparkling diamond in Malaysia.

SME : How Information Overload Leads To Poor Financial Decisions

By

News Hub Asia Reporter

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February 24, 2016

Six tips to help you safeguard against information overload

The number of tasks that your brain can perform simultaneously is limited. If our brain is overwhelmed with information, it will partially shut down and become ‘blind’ to all the information it cannot process.For example, you are driving your car and talking to your friend on the phone at the same time. Suddenly a dangerous traffic situation comes up and requires your immediate and full attention: you will almost automatically stop talking and listening.

Only when you have resolved the traffic situation and are driving again on ‘auto-pilot’, will you be able to pick up the conversation. By drowning you in (ir)relevant information, the chance that you miss an important detail becomes bigger, which is exactly what shrewd marketeers try to achieve.

If you are not interested enough, you will likely walk away, in order to free yourself from the information overload and the stress on your brain. But if you are really interested in the product (say your fridge is broken and you immediately need a new one), you will skip all the details and focus on the main thing: the price.

The details that you missed turn up later to bite you in the wallet: a short guarantee period, high delivery costs, or high electricity consumption).

Information overload happens when you have to plough through a 40 page employment contract, when you buy a car or phone, but it is also prevalent in financial products. For example, the “Product Disclosure Sheet” that every bank is required to publish for its credit cards and loans does a great job in giving you all the information: the different interest rates based on your payment history, cash advance fees, replacement fees, annual fees, supplementary card fees, foreign exchange fees, balance transfer fees, additional statement request fee, etc.

But by giving you all the information, it is actually harder to discover and focus on the most relevant pieces of information: interest rate and annual fee. Another example: a large billboard tells you a certain credit card gives you 8% cash back. Great! But the fine print at the bottom informs you, that you have to activate the category by calling a number, the cashback only applies during the weekend, after you spend at least RM2,000 per month on the card, is only given when you shop at certain suppliers and the maximum cashback given cannot exceed RM10 per month.

Too much information! Your brain cannot handle it and what will you end up remembering? The 8% cashback, even though your actual cashback will be much lower.

How can you guard against information overload? These six tips will help you:

1) Realise that the seller is trying to confuse you.

2) Resist the urge to take decisions when you feel overwhelmed by information and delay the decision if possible.

3) At the same time, don’t fall prey to ‘analysis paralysis’. Don’t delay the decision after you have sufficient information as there will always be more information out there.

4) Take the time to reread and digest all information when it is a large purchase or decision.

5) Find an information source (such as CompareHero.my for credit cards, personal loans and broadband) that has summarised the information for you.

6) Free your head and focus on one thing at a time.

Mark Reijman is co-founder and managing director of CompareHero.my, dedicated to help you save time and money by comparing all credit cards, loans and broadband plans in Malaysia.